Farnsworth Foster Update - July 11th

He has just finished his anti-fungal meds so we'll see how he does without them. I've only given him 2 antifungal baths but have been using hand sanitizer on yeasty spots - not needed so much recently. He still pees a lot but seems to be able to hold it for longer than before. Lately when I've been out for a few hours, I have come home to a dry belly band.

He did have a recurrence of the waxy ear infection but a couple of days of Blue Power solution seems to have rectified that. His sight is gone completely but he voluntarily goes down the basement stairs now too, and they are steeper than the stairs to the second floor!

I think Kimmy has taken a bit of a shine to him and grooms him once in a while. When we all play, he likes to smother me with kisses; he gets quite animated - it's a riot. So not much startling change, but he's holding his own and I do believe he's quite happy.

Farnsworth Foster Update - June 18th

"Farnsworth has settled in quite well and is now allowing me to pick him up without flailing. He also is among the mob that greets us when we come in the door (even if we've only been gone 10 minutes).

His eyes are virtually useless. Nonetheless, he has learned to go downstairs and on/off the deck by himself - probably to avoid me picking him up. He gets an eyedrop as well as Optimmune twice a day.

Hi tummy is nice and soft now but still black and hairless. All the crusties are gone, and the waxy yeast feel seems to be decreasing. Maybe I'm getting used to it, but I think the sore spots and hair on his legs are improving. He is definitely not scratching like he was. I don't see or feel all the lumps and bumps I did before. His ears are free of discharge now.

He is taking Novo Lexin and Ketoconazole for the bacterial and yeast infections. Getting him to take these is a real challenge as his sense of smell is tremendous and he can smell the drugs, even in peanut butter. We've tried marshmallows, blueberries, jam, cream cheese, processed cheese and peanut butter. And he won't eat his food if there are drugs in it. Any suggestions welcome.

My main concern now is the amount that he is drinking and peeing. I discussed this with his vet when I dropped in for some Optimmune and she said it could be renal failure and we should take a urine sample on the next visit. My gut feel says it might be Cushings Disease. I'm not going to pursue anything, though, until after his meds are finished as any tests could be impacted by the drugs in his system. In the meantime, I am taking him outside every 2 hours or less and using a belly-band when this is not possible.

Personality-wise, he is a complete dear. Very much a gentleman and now quite affectionate. He gets along well with the others and is quite easy-going. And he has such an adorably sweet face. I hope we can get his health problems under control as he will make some caring family very happy."
Hilary

Farnsworth - June 3rd

Farnsworth is an 8 year old male who was adopted by a loving couple 6 years ago. Farnswworth was surrender to us after the wife passed away. His foster Mom, Hilary, sent us a report of this first vet visit:

"We read through the previous vet history together and she did her own visual as well as a look under the microscope at a scraping from his groin area. She believes his major problems are yeast and bacterial skin infections. We have Dermazole Antifungal shampoo, Novo Lexin (cephalexin antibiotic) for the bacterial infection and Ketoconazole (a fungus inhibitor) for the yeast. I will keep giving him Ultimate Liver Cleanse with his breakfast as a detoxifier, especially since the Ketoconazole is hard on the liver. I will also stock up on Purelle and apply topically.

His hearing seems okay but his chronic ear infection is dreadful (see picture). They are so irritated I can't risk putting Blue Power solution in them yet, so I'm using Polysporin to heal the open sores.

His eyes are in bad shape. Although he had entropion surgery last year, she said his eyelids appear to still be turning inwards a bit. He has a bad case of dry eye for which she has given me Gentamicine to apply twice a day, before applying Optimmune. She said (and showed me) that he has Keratosis and even wondered if he had an eye ulcer in his right eye which had ruptured.

He is eating well and I have switched him to raw. I will watch him like a hawk to make sure he can handle it, but like Odin it only took 2 meals to adjust. He was on Medi-Cal hypo-allergenic; the ingredients aren't bad but it does contain flax seed and oats and oat hulls which could be allergens.

At times his breathing is very loud but it settles down when he does and he doesn't snore any louder than the others. He's an independent little soul and doesn't seem to get bothered by much. He looks like he's a real sweetheart but I haven't really had a chance to learn about his personality yet"